Windows Sonic vs. Dolby Atmos vs. DTS: Which Should You ...

Almost similar sound to Dolby Atmos: Although DTS can theoretically encode audio at a higher rate than Dolby Atmos for better sound quality, ... Womanenjoyingspatialsoundinheadphones(From:Pexels) AshowdownbetweenWindowsSonic,DolbyAtmos,andDTStodeterminewhichspatialsoundsoftwareworksbestforyourheadphones. Inordertoenjoymoviesandgamesattheirfullpotential,it’simportantthatyouconsidersurroundsoundcapabilities.Buttherearedifferentselectionsofspatialsoundtechnologiesavailabletoday.Andit’sdifficulttodeterminewhichoneismostsuitableforyoursetup. Inaddition,thereareotherfactorstoconsidersuchascompatibilityissuesandwhatspecificplatformyou’reusingiton.Allthisputtogethercanbeconfusingandcanleadtomisunderstandingsbetweenwhatcanworkbest. That’swhywemadethiscomparisonarticlethatdetailsallyouneedtoknowaboutWindowsSonic,DolbyAtmos,andDTSforheadphones. Womanenjoyingspatialsoundinheadphones(From:Pexels) InThisArticle WhatIsSpatialSound?WhatIsWindowsSonicforHeadphones?WhatIsDolbyAtmosforHeadphones?WhatIsDTSforHeadphones?WindowsSonicvs.DolbyAtmosvs.DTS:WhichOne’sforYou?HowtoActivateTheseVirtualSurroundSoundSoftwaresConclusion WhatIsSpatialSound? Spatialsound,sometimescalled3Daudio,isanenhancedaudioexperiencewhereyoucanperceivesoundsfromalldirections. Insteadofjusthearingsoundscomingfromtheleft/right(stereosound)oraroundyou(surroundsound),spatialsoundsaddanelementofverticalitythatmakesitsothatwhatwehearisclosetohowwe’dnaturallyhearitinreallife.Thisaddsalevelofsoundimmersionthatcan’tbereplicatedbytraditionalsurroundsoundformats. Althoughweonlyhavetwoears,wecanoftendeterminetheapproximatelocationofsoundsinthreedimensions.Thankstothecollaborativeworkbetweenourbrainandears,wecanperceivethesound’sdistance,elevation,anddirection. Withthatbeingsaid,spatialsoundsoftwaresmakesuseofstrategicplacementofsoundsourcesinavirtualthree-dimensionalspacetocreatethat3Dsoundeffect.Thesealsotrytoreplicatehead-relatedtransferfunctions(HRTF).Ittellshowanearreceivesaparticularsoundandhowthatsoundchangesasitpassesthroughthebody. Spatialsoundsoftwaretechnologiescreateimmersive3Dsoundeffectsthatcloselyemulatereal-lifehearing. ThethreeleadingspatialsoundsoftwarestodayareWindowsSonic,DolbyAtmos,andDTS.Getabettergraspontheirdifferencesbelow. WhatIsWindowsSonicforHeadphones? WindowsSonicforHeadphonesavailableonanyWindows10computer. WindowsSonicforHeadphonesisMicrosoft’sattemptatrecreatingthespatialsoundexperienceforeveryoneontheXboxOneandWindows10.Itdoesn’thaveanyspecificphysicalequipmentandhardwarerequirementstowork.Instead,itusessoftwareandvirtualmeanstofunction. Youcouldhaveanypairofearphonesorordinarystereoheadphonesandstillenjoyspatialaudio. AdvantagesofWindowsSonicforHeadphones ThereareanumberofbenefitsofusingWindowsSonicforHeadphones.Here’swhatyoushouldknow: It’sFREE:Fortheabsolutelylowpriceof$0,youtoocanexperiencespatialsound.Youalsodon’thavetoworryaboutbuyingexpensiveequipmentsinceanypairofstereoheadphoneswilldo. Simplesetup:AllyouhavetodoistogglethefunctiononyourcomputerorXboxOne.That’sit. Noneedtodownloadseparately:WindowsSonicforHeadphonescomespre-installedoneveryWindows10andXboxOne. DisadvantagesofWindowsSonicforHeadphones DespitetheadvantagesofWindowsSonicforHeadphones,therearestillsomedisadvantagesthatyoushouldkeepinmind.Here’swhatyoushouldconsider: Soundcanbeinaccurate:Thisspatialsoundsoftwareonlyworkswellincertainsituations.Itworkswellwithgamingandmovies,butcancauseaudiotosoundinaccuratewhenprimarilyusedformusic. Notforspeakers:Unsurprisingly,WindowsSonicforHeadphonesonlyworkswellwithheadphones.Usingexternal/laptopspeakerswiththissoftwareenabledandnoheadphonespluggedincancausesounddistortionsintheaudio. WhatIsDolbyAtmosforHeadphones? DownloadDolbyAccessfromtheWindowsstoretoaccessDolbyAtmosonPC.(From:MicrosoftStore) DolbyAtmos,developedbyDolbyLaboratories,isspatialsoundsoftwaretechnologythatisavailableonseveralplatformssuchasWindows10andXboxOne.ItcanalsobeusedonanyTV,soundbar,orhometheatersetups. DolbyAtmosandWindowsSonicworkverysimilarlyinprovidingthespatialsoundexperience.However,theformerrequiresthatyoubuythesoftwarelicenseandspecificsupportedhardwareinordertomakeuseofthetechnology. AdvantagesofDolbyAtmosforHeadphones DolbyAtmoshasalotofprosthatmakeitasolidcontenderforspatialsoundsoftware.Besuretotakethefollowingintoaccount: MoreimmersivethanWindowsSonic:SomepeoplesaythatDolbyAtmosprovidesamoreimmersivelisteningexperienceincomparisontoWindowsSonic.Thisismainlyattributedtotheincreasedheighttospatialsoundswhichprovidesamorerealisticsoundexperience. CanalsoworkforHomeTheaters:Thissoftwareisn’tonlyexclusiveforheadphones.Itworksonanyothersoundsystemlikeyourhometheatersetup.However,it’simportantthatyouhavetherightspeakers/hardwaretoenjoythebestexperience. Workswithmoreplatformsanddevices:DolbyAtmosissupportedinseveralmajorstreamingplatformssuchasNetflix,Disney+,AmazonMusicandmore.Italsoworkswithseveraldevices/brandsandevenmobilephones. DisadvantagesofDolbyAtmosforHeadphones Ontheotherhand,DolbyAtmoshassomedownsidesthatyoushouldconsideraswell.Here’swhatyoushouldtakeintoconsideration. Costs$15:Althoughthereisa30-dayfreetrialtouseDolbyAtmos,you’llneedtopay$14.99attheendofittogetalicenseandcontinueusingthesoftware. Requiressupportedhardwareandsoftwareforbetterexperience:AlthoughDolbyAtmoscanworkwithanyregularpairofheadphonesthroughdownloadingthesoftware,youcanimprovetheexperiencebyusingheadphoneswithabuilt-inDolbyAtmossupport.Theseareusuallymulti-driversthatmimictheDolbyhometheaterexperience. Set-upmaybecomplextosome:IncomparisontoWindowsSonic,DolbyAtmosisalotmorecomplextosetup.FromdownloadingtheapptoconfiguringallthePCsettings,alotoftinkeringneedstobedonejusttogetitrunningproperly. WhatIsDTSforHeadphones? DownloadDTSSoundUnboundfromtheWindowsstoretoaccessDTSforheadphonesonPC.(From:MicrosoftStore) DTSforheadphones,sometimescalledDTSHeadphoneXorjustDTS:X,isanobject-basedaudiocodec.Itprovidesimprovedspatialsoundthanothertraditionalsoundsystems. DTSsoftwareissimilartoDolbyAtmos.Yhemaindifferenceistheformercompressesaudiometadatatoa4:1ratiowhilethelatterdoessotoa10-12:1ratio.WhatthismeansisthatDTS,intheory,hasmorepotentialinproducinghigherqualitysounds. AdvantagesofDTSforHeadphones DTSforheadphonesisoneoftheleadingspatialsoundsoftwareinthemarket.Assuch,therearesomeadvantagesthatshouldmakeitworthyourtime. Morerealisticsoundquality:DTStechnologyisbelievedtohavethehighestqualityandmostrealisticsoundsamongotherspatialsoundsoftwares.Thisismainlyduetoitshighdataencodingrateandeffectiveuseofmulti-channelspeakersetups. Worksgreatwithanyheadphonesandspeakersetup:UnlikethelimitedplatformavailabilityofWindowsSonicandtheoverheadchannelrequirementsofDolbyAtmos,DTSworksgreatwithanyheadphonesandsimplesurroundsoundmulti-speakersetup. Customizablesound:DTSfeaturestheabilitytofullycustomizethevolumerangeofvoicesinmoviesandgames.Thisisespeciallyusefulwhenyouneedthatboostindialoguevolumeatanimportantpartofthemovieorcutsceneofavideogame. DisadvantagesofDTSforHeadphones DespitetheadvantagesofDTSforHeadphones,therearestillsomedisadvantagesthatyoushouldkeepinmind.Here’swhatyoushouldconsider: Mostexpensiveofthethree:Youneedtomakeaone-timepaymentof$19.99afterthetwo-weekfreetrialinordertomakeuseofDTS:XfromtheDTSSoundUnboundapp. WorksbestwithDTS-supportedmedia:Sinceitisthenewestofthethree,notallmainstreammediaandapplicationssupporttheDTSaudiocodec,yet.Onlysomemainstreamvideogamesand4KBlue-raymoviessupportit,butthiscanchangeinthenearfuture. AlmostsimilarsoundtoDolbyAtmos:AlthoughDTScantheoreticallyencodeaudioatahigherratethanDolbyAtmosforbettersoundquality,somelistenersareunabletodistinguishanydifferencesbetweenthetwo.Forcasuallisteners,itmaybemuchbettertogoforDolbyAtmossinceitisthecheaperoption. WindowsSonicvs.DolbyAtmosvs.DTS:WhichOne’sforYou? Thereisn’tanendallbeallanswertothisquestion.Determiningwhichoneisthebestishighlysubjectiveandrequiresthatyoutakemanyfactorsintoconsideration. Peoplemaysaythatoneisbetterthantheother,butthebestwaytofindoutforyourselfistocarefullylistentotheaudio.Withthat,youcanmakethemostinformeddecision. It’simportanttonotethatspatialsoundtechnologyisnotrecommendedtouseformusic.Thisisbecausemusicisprimarilymadeasstereoaudio.Thismeansitwouldn’tmakemuchsensetousespatialsoundtechnologiesinthissituation. Forpeopleonabudget Whenitcomestogeneralcosts,there’snodoubtthatWindowsSonicisthewinnerinthisaspect.Comingpre-installedandaccessibleoneveryWindows10PCandXboxOne,almostanyonecanmakeuseofthisspatialsoundtechnology. However,ifyouwanttohave3Dsoundoutsideofthoseplatforms,thenDolbyAtmosistheoneforyou.Youonlyneedtomakeaone-timepaymentof$15toenjoyspatialsurroundsoundonyourheadphonesorhometheatersetup. Verdict:Forpeopleonabudget,WindowsSonicisthebestspatialsoundtechnologyyoucanget.It’sfreeandcomespre-installedoneveryWindows10PC/laptopandXboxOneforeasyaccess. Forgaming Gamingwithheadphones(From:Unsplash) Whenitcomestogaming,thedebateisheatedbetweenDolbyAtmosandDTS.Theshortanswer?Bothwillgreatlyimproveyourgameplaybyprovidingmoreimmersive3Daudio. However,mostgamersbelievethatDTSisthebestforgaming.ThisismainlyduetotheexpandedsoundandspaciousprofilethatDTSprovidesespeciallyonheadphones.Thisisn’tsayingthatDolbyAtmosorWindowsSonicfailtoachievethis,it’sjustthatDTShasamorenoticeableeffect. Yet,ifyoualreadyhavegamingheadphoneswithbuilt-insurroundsound,thesewon’tmattersinceusingspatialsoundsoftwarewithsurroundsoundheadphoneswilldistorttheaudio. Verdict:Forgaming,DTSforheadphonesisbelievedtobethebestspatialsoundtechnology.Majorityofgamersagreethatitprovidesanimmersivesoundexperiencelikenoother.However,justrememberthateventhoughthemajorityofgamersagreethatDTSisthebestdoesn’tmeanthatit’sthebestforyoutoo. Formovies SampleofamovieonNetflixwithDolbyAtmos(From:Netflix.com) Asformovies,DolbyAtmoshasbeenastaplestandardintheindustryforthelongesttime.Becauseofthat,it’sbesttogoforDolbyAtmossincemanyplatformsandmoviessupportthistechnology.SomeoftheseplatformsareAmazonMusic,AppleTV,andDisney+.Additionally,manyTVshowsandmoviesonNetflixalsosupportDolbyAtmos.. Verdict:DolbyAtmosisthestandardinmostmovies,films,andTVshowsonmajorstreamingplatformssuchasNetflix.Assuch,it’sbesttouseDolbyAtmosinordertoguaranteethebiggestcollectionofsupportedmoviesandshows. Forthebestspatialsoundexperience Asmentionedearlier,choosingthebestspatialsoundtechnologyishighlydependentonyourspecificneedsandpersonalpreferences.It’sbesttotakeallotherfactorsintoconsiderationsothatyoucandeterminewhichoneistherightoneforyou. Togetabetteridea,putonyourheadphonesandlistentothiscomparisonvideothatshowcasesthethreespatialsoundsoftwarewe’vediscussed. HowtoActivateTheseVirtualSurroundSoundSoftwares SpatialSoundOptionsinWindows10 Therearedifferentwaystoactivatethesesurroundsoundsoftwaresandeachishighlydependentonwhatplatformyou’reusingthemon.However,it’sgoodtoknowthatthe3canallworkonPCandXboxOne. CheckoutourarticleforadetailedlookathowtoactivateWindowsSonic,DolbyAtmos,andDTS. Conclusion Watchingmoviesandplayinggameswithvirtual3Dsoundisanexperiencelikenoother.Theorganicmovementofsoundaddsawholelevelofimmersionthatvastlyimprovestheoverallexperience.Withthisarticleyoushouldnowbeabletotakeallfactorsintoconsiderationandfindoutwhichspatialsoftwaretechnologyisrightforyou. Thebestspatialsoundtechnologymostlydependsonyourownspecificneeds,availablehardware,andpersonalpreference. Keepinmindthatseeinghearingisbelieving.Sotakethetimetolistentocomparisonvideosinordertogetabetterfeelofwhichsystemyou’dprefermore. Wehopethisarticlehelpedyouinunderstandingthesespatialsoundtechnologies.Ifyouhaveapreferencebetweenthethree,pleaseletusknowinthecommentsdownbelow.We’dlovetohaveadiscussionandhearwhatyouhavetosay! FiledUnder:dolbyatmosdtsdts:xspatialsoundsurroundsoundvirtualsurroundsoundwindowssonic 6comments HardtobelieveDTSandDolbyareevenonthesamerealm,speciallywhenitcomestocompetitiveFPSgames. Dolbyenablesmetoperceivefootstepsandgunshotssomuchbettertothepointsomeonecouldsayit’sborderlinecheating.Theadvantageisverynoticeable. BetweenSonicandDTSIdidn’tgivemuchofadvantageingamingbutmediasoundoverallisbetterwithDTS(stillwouldpreferDolbytho). WindowsSonicmakesverysubtlesounddifferencesbutreallyitdoesn’tsoundanybetterorworse,justdifferent.Ineverbothertouseit. Reply Summary: 1)IfyouwanttoexperiencespatialsoundthenWindowsSonicismorethansufficient foranythingacasuallistenerwouldneed. 2)Ifyou’vealreadyusedWindowsSonicandkeenaboutsptialandsurroundsound thengoforDolbyAtmos(MoviesandMusicpreferred,gaming)orDTS:X(preferred forgaming,musicandmoviesaddup). Reply Sowindowssonicdoesn’ttouchmusicformats.Youcanturnitonanditwon’tchangeanythingaboutthesound.Itgets‘turnedon’bygamesandmediathattellittoturnon.Youneedprettydecentheadphonesforthisstufftosoundgreateitherway. Reply ThenewerversionofDolbyAccessinMicrosoftisjustinsanewhenitcomestofpscompetitivegame,youcanliterallyheareveryfootstepsandwhichdirectionthey’recomingfrom.Iplayedhuntshowdownandsplitgatewithablonbl-03IEM,whichisoneofthebestIEMyoucanbuyforgamingandit’scheap.bareblon-bl03isgoodbutwithdolbyaccessit’sjustacompleteIEM,couldeasilyrival$50-120‘gaming’headphones. Reply 3DSoundthattakesadvantageofheadpositiontrackingdevicesinaVRenvironment.Istherenotsoftwarethatcandothis?ForeampleOculusQuest2? 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